Web Hosting comparison · 2026
Cloudways vs WP Engine (2026 Comparison)
Side-by-side: pricing, features, pros, cons, and our editorial winner for web hosting.
Winner summary
Cloudways vs WP Engine: how they differ
We have not scored Cloudways against our rubric yet, so we are not naming an overall winner here. The dimensions below are still directly comparable.
Cheaper
Cloudways
Higher rated
Not compared
Better free tier
Tie
Cloudways
Flexible managed cloud across DO, Vultr & AWS
Not yet scored
$11/mo
Feature comparison
| Dimension | Cloudways | WP Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $11/mo | $24/mo |
| Free trial | 3-day free trial | 60-day money-back |
| Best for | Developers & agencies | Enterprise WordPress |
| Badge | — | — |
Cloudways key features
- DO/Vultr/Linode/AWS/GCP
- 1-click vertical scaling
- Free SSL & auto-healing
- Built-in cache stack
- 24/7 chat
WP Engine key features
- Global Edge Cache
- Genesis framework included
- Dev/staging/prod environments
- Smart Plugin Manager
- 24/7 chat support
Cloudways — pros & cons
Pros
- True pay-as-you-go
- Easy vertical scaling
- Strong DO Premium / Vultr HF performance
Cons
- Steeper learning curve
- Email is paid add-on
WP Engine — pros & cons
Pros
- Mature dev tooling
- Strong security posture
- Reliable uptime
Cons
- Visit overage fees
- No email hosting
When to pick which
Choose Cloudways if…
- Scalable WordPress
- Custom PHP apps
- Agency multi-site
Choose WP Engine if…
- Enterprise WordPress
- Agency client portfolios